SALEM, N.J. – Four defendants have pleaded guilty in connection with events surrounding the 2020 shooting of a New Jersey State Police detective at a Salem County mobile home park, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced Thursday.
Markese Rogers, 30, of Pittsgrove, and Bridgeton residents Ashley Acevedo Diaz, 27, Shakeem Waters, 36, and Noel Lazu, 25, entered guilty pleas on February 14 and 21 during pretrial conferences before New Jersey Superior Court Judge Russell A. DePersia.
Rogers, Waters, and Lazu pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, while Acevedo Diaz pleaded guilty to riot. Under plea agreements, the state will recommend sentences ranging from probation to five years in prison.
Authorities said the four were part of a group that traveled to Harding Woods mobile home park in Pittsgrove on April 25, 2020, intending to carry out an attack. NJSP Detective Richard Hershey was at the scene investigating a home invasion when a caravan of 15 people arrived, some armed. Despite identifying himself as law enforcement, Hershey was shot multiple times and seriously wounded.
Three other suspects—Tremaine Hadden, Najzeir Hutchings, and Kareen Warner—previously pleaded guilty or were convicted for their roles in the shooting. Hadden was sentenced to 37 years in prison, Hutchings received 13 years, and Warner was sentenced to seven years.
Attorney General Platkin praised Detective Hershey’s resilience, saying, “Detective Hershey’s courage under fire was extraordinary.”